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Harold Stassen
|religion = |birth = |death = |cause of death = |occupation = , , Politician |parents = William Stassen, Elsie Mueller |spouse = Esther G. Glewwe |children = Glenn, Kathleen |political office = Minnesota |political party = }} , }} |type of appearance = Direct}} |political office = Minnesota |type of appearance = Contemporary reference ( )}} Harold Edward Stassen (April 13, 1907 – March 4, 2001) was the 25th Governor of Minnesota from 1939 to 1943 and a later perennial candidate for other offices, most notably and frequently President of the United States in the Republican primaries. He attempted to run for president in the 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1964, 1968, 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1992 elections. Harold Stassen in The Man With the Iron Heart Harold Stassen, along with Thomas Dewey and Robert Taft, was an early contender for the Republican Party's presidential nomination in 1948.The Man With the Iron Heart, pg. 353. Harold Stassen in Worldwar Harold Stassen was Earl Warren's Vice President, and succeeded Warren when he committed suicide in the wake of the explosive-metal bomb destruction of Indianapolis by the Race in 1965.Aftershocks, pg. 292. Stassen was not privy to Warren's decision to attack the Race's Colonization Fleet in 1962.Ibid., pg. 296. In the aftermath Warren's death, Stassen set about removing those members of the administration who had known about Warren's actions. Stassen was already certain that he wouldn't be elected in 1968, a fact that he privately shared with his Soviet counterpart, Vyacheslav Molotov.Ibid., pg. 305. Stassen soon learned of the new American use of rocket propelled asteroids as weapons. During a meeting with Sam Yeager, the man who blew the proverbial whistle on Warren, Yeager attempted to broach the subject with Stassen. Stassen pointedly shared nothing with Yeager.Ibid. pgs. 405-409. Literary Comment Harry Turtledove's use of the then-living Stassen as a character in a work of fiction, using both first and last name without obscuring his identity, is unusual. Harold Stassen in ''Joe Steele'' Governor Harold Stassen received the Republican nomination for the 1948 presidential election just days before the outbreak of the Japanese War. As Stassen was a complete unknown outside of Minnesota, incumbent President Joe Steele had anticipated an easy victory.''Joe Steele'', pg. 354. However, the new war meant that Steele actually had to campaign. Stassen did somewhat better than expected, picking up states that the Steele machine hadn't expected him to. He was also able to pick up some of the states that contained resettled wreckers. However, Steele handily carried the rest of the vote, and won his fifth term.Ibid., pg. 359. Harold Stassen in Southern Victory Minnesota's enthusiastic young governor was the Republican nominee for the United States presidency in 1944. While he didn't win, he did comparatively well, taking his home state and the usual Republican strongholds in the midwest. More impressively, he took incumbent President Charles W. La Follette's home state of Wisconsin, a traditionally Socialist state.In at the Death, pg. 527. Literary Comment While this minor character is not named, his description matches Harry Turtledove's other treatments of Harold Stassen. See Also *Thomas Dewey, the Republican Party nominee for President of the United States in the 1948 of OTL. *Lyndon Johnson, 36th President of the United States, serving from November 1963 through January 1969. Like Stassen in Worldwar, Johnson was an incumbent Vice President who ascended to the Presidency after the unexpected death of the previous incumbent President (Johnson succeeded John F. Kennedy). References }} Category:Unsuccessful Presidential Candidates (OTL) Category:Unsuccessful US Presidential Nominees (Alternate Timeline)